In 1968 Laerte completed the Free Course of Drawing of the
Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado. In 1969 she began to study journalism at the
University of São Paulo but did not complete the course. She created the character Leão for the magazine
Sibila in 1970. During the 1970s, while a student at USP's Escola de Comunicações e Artes (School for Communications and Arts), she worked for the magazines
Banas and
Placar, and founded – with Luiz Gê – the magazine
Balão. In 1974 she did her first work for a newspaper,
Gazeta Mercantil. In the same year she began producing campaign material for the
Brazilian Democratic Movement during the elections. The following year she worked in the production of cards of solidarity in the movement of aid to political prisoners. In 1978 she drew stories featuring the character João Ferrador for the publication of the metalworkers' union in
São Bernardo do Campo. She later found the Oboré agency specialized in producing communication materials for unions. The company published her book
Illustration Union (1986), with a thousand illustrations, comics, and cartoons released for use by unions and other organizations. She did media coverage for FIFA World Cups: those of
1978 (for the newspaper
O Estado de S. Paulo),
1982 (for
Folha de S. Paulo), and
1986 (for
O Estado de S. Paulo). At the end of the 1980s, she published comic strips for magazines such as
Chiclete com Banana (edited by Angeli),
Geraldão (edited by Glauco) and
Circo, all by
Toninho Mendes' Circo publishing house, who would later launch her solo magazine
Piratas do Tietê. In 1985 she released her first book,
O Tamanho da Coisa, a collection of her cartoons. In 1991
Folha de S. Paulo began publishing her
Piratas do Tietê comic strips. She regularly releases albums with collections of her strips, mainly published by Devir Livraria and L&PM Pocket. Laerte has also worked as screenwriter, co-authoring scripts for comedy shows such as
TV Pirata and
Sai de Baixo and children's show
TV Colosso. She presents a talk-show on Canal Brasil,
Transando com Laerte. == Personal life ==